Rezoning request sparks debate

Posted: Saturday, January 06, 2007

A little rezoning brought up some big issues last week at an Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission meeting.

Mazelle Graham, the owner of two lots on Boulevard and Wynburn Avenue, asked the planning commission for permission to create three smaller lots and rezone them. The minor request snowballed into conversations about the county's green belt, neighborhood planning units and other hot-button topics, rather than bringing the usual snore-inducing discussion.

Jim Warnes, Graham's lawyer, argued that the Athens-Clarke County Commission's 2000 decision to downzone rural land, making it virtually undevelopable, means the county also needs to encourage denser development in urban neighborhoods.

"The laws of supply and demand have created a substantial increase in land prices, particularly inside the bypass," Warnes said. "We've seen this happen in Five Points, Boulevard and elsewhere."

Warnes pointed out that, although the area is zoned for 15,000-square-foot lots, only three lots actually are that big. The rest are about 8,000 square feet.

But county planners and at least one resident disagreed. Graham's lots are near an abandoned church on Chase Street that was controversially rezoned to commercial last year. Boulevard resident Marcie White said she feared a domino effect of zoning changes in the neighborhood.

"It sets a bad precedent, and there's going to be a lot of similar requests to divide lots," she said. "It does increase the density of the neighborhood, and it does change the look and feel of the neighborhood."

Other residents - including Angie Holliday, who fought the Chase Street church rezoning - said they liked Graham's plan to tear down a run-down duplex and build a new house.

A split planning commission recommended denying the request.

"We are already overbuilt, and we don't have a need for all the housing that's being requested," planning commissioner Lucy Rowland said.

Other planning commissioners called for a comprehensive study of land use in Boulevard. One, Chrissy Marlowe, also said the request is a perfect example of why Athens needs neighborhood planning units, a system in which such decisions are made by boards of residents representing small districts.